Top 10 Books Written By Musicians

Recently, [lastfm link_type=”artist_info”]Amy Winehouse[/lastfm]’s father, Mitch Winehouse, announced that he would be writing a memoir dedicated to the life of Amy with proceeds going to the Amy Winehouse Foundation which helps children in need.

While she’s unfortunately not around to prove us right, we’ve always thought that Amy would have been a great author of both her life autobiography and fictional books. The lyrics to her songs are all rife with metaphor and heartbreaking story lines.

While the “musician autobiography” is not uncommon, we went searching for the more critically-acclaimed and profound works written by musicians with out list of the Top 10 Deep Reads Written By Musicians.

Anthony Kiedis from [lastfm link_type=”artist_info”]Red Hot Chili Peppers[/lastfm]’ 480-word tome to his life as a college drop-out, drug addict, and musician is frank and offers hope for those who are looking for inspiration to recover from the drugs part of the sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll equation.

9. [lastfm link_type=”artist_info”]Jewel[/lastfm], Chasing Down The Dawn: Stories From The Road

Published in 2000, at the height of Jewel’s success as a folk-pop artist, Jewel tells the personal story of her chaotic yet artistic life as a struggling musician from Alaska with essays, vignettes, and insights into her poetic psyche.

Written by the “quiet” Beatle, this book is less about the writing, of which there is little, but more about the Beatles-era photos accompanied by witty captions that give you immediate glimpses into George Harrison’s rarely discussed sense of humor.

The book the Oscar-winning movie was partially based on, Johnny Cash’s autobiography talks about his amphetamine addiction, his spirituality, his renegade political outlooks, his modern life, and the reaction of the music industry to his dark, poignant songs.

6. [lastfm link_type=”artist_info”]Tom Waits[/lastfm], Hard Ground

The combination of Tom Waits’ poetry and Michael O’Brien’s poetry in this book makes it a powerful artistic collaboration.

5. [lastfm link_type=”artist_info”]Nick Cave[/lastfm], The Death Of Bunny Munro

One of few musicians to go into full fictional novel territory, Nick Cave’s The Death of Bunny Munro is a twisted psycho-sexual tale of a door-to-door lotion salesman called Bunny Munro has been compared to influential authors like Cormac McCarthy.

A stream-of-conscious type of autobiography about Bob Dylan’s varied life experiences and hyper-political life, Chronicles has been heralded has one of the most influential books written by a musician yet.

3. [lastfm link_type=”artist_info”]Keith Richards[/lastfm], Life

Keith Richard, of [lastfm link_type=”artist_info”]Rolling Stones[/lastfm] fame, is known for being the godfather about rock ‘n roll partying. His well-written autobiography gives him a lot more depth than just a man with a guitar and libido.

2.[lastfm link_type=”artist_info”] Patti Smith[/lastfm], Just Kids

Written about Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe’s youthful relationship before they were “famous” artists, Just Kids is about a pair of best friends that vowed they would take care of each other until they reached their goal of artistic success. An emotional, beautiful look into the personal life of these two artist heavyweights.

1. [lastfm link_type=”artist_info”]John Lennon[/lastfm], In His Own Write

A collection of stories, poems, and drawings, John Lennon showcased his cheeky, hilarious humor and his gifts as an intuitive wordsmith with In His Own Write.

Did we miss one? What is your favorite book written by a musician? Let us know in the comments!